Things Are All A-Buzz

Mine really is a summer garden. I planned it that way on purpose. Yes, I have a bunch of spring bloomers because I am an incurable plant addict. But spring weather can be unpredictable and during years when the rain is constant, the spring garden can be either ruined or ignored. 

Contrarily, summer here in the Pacific Northwest is pretty much sunshine and more sunshine and July through September is when my garden is happiest and busiest with buzzing and flittering. It's when I am outside and when indoor things get ignored. 

I don't have a lot of photos this time but here's what's going on right now.

Despite my devotion to Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising' I saw this Coreopsis (below) at the Peoria Garden plant sale and decided it had better come home with me. It's much lower-growing and has more needle-like foliage. And the flowers are outstanding. (Will it survive the winter? That's the question.)

Coreopsis 'Cruzin' Main Street'

Years ago I purchased Dahlia 'Bonne Esperance' from a local retailer. I can't recall how it met its demise but when I saw it on sale at Swan Island Dahlias, I knew it needed to be in my garden once again. It's a low-grower with clear pink, single flowers. 

Dahlia 'Bonne Esperance' blooming beside Coreopsis 'Mercury Rising'

This volunteer Love-Lies-Bleeding is anything but a low-grower! It's taller than my five feet now which is a good thing because it offers a bit of shade for the Fuchsia and Farfugium behind it. I'm going to let it go to seed again this year. It's a cool plant.

Love-Lies-Bleeding 'Dreadlocks' came true from seed from last year's plant.

There is something kind of magical about Scabiosa 'Fama' with its extra-large, flouncy flowers. The honeybees apparently agree. 

Scabiosa caucasica 'Fama'

I know for many, if not most gardeners, Pennyroyal is considered a smelly weed. But I love it. The pungent aroma reminds me of my childhood years traipsing along the shores of the North Umpqua River where it grew. For me it doesn't misbehave like the typical mint but I still grow it in a pot with lots of water. It smells wonderful and the honeybees love it.

Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) in full bloom. 

I moved my Indigofera (no small feat) this spring to an all-day sun area and it has recovered beautifully. I really love the foliage and flower on this plant. 

Foliage and flower on Indigofera heterantha.

My Digiplexis survived our mild winter but just sat there in its pot for months. Finally now it's fixing to bloom.

Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame'

I think the foliage on this hardy Geranium is especially cute when adorned with the droppings of spent flowers of the Seven Son Flower (Heptacodium miconioides). 

Geranium pratense 'Victor Reiter'

One of the highlights of the summer garden is the hardy Fuchsias I've collected. Below is 'Baby Ann' in all her glory growing alongside a native sword fern. 

Fuchsia 'Baby Ann'

I've been watering my Japanese Blood grass a lot and it is really filling in. I love everything about this grass.

Japanese Bloodgrass (Imperata cylindrica 'Rubra') partnered with a full grown
Hypericum androsaemum 'Glacier' seedling

And a few wide shots. Please pardon the imperfections.

Lots of Photos and a Few Questions

The days are winding down so I've been taking photos like mad. 

Dahlia 'Dutch Explosion' is still exploding.

Abutilon 'Nabob' is such a sweet thing.

Rosa 'Jacques Cartier' is one of my favorite roses. Every few days it puts out a few roses for me to bring inside. 

This crazy Alstromeria has been blooming nonstop since it began back in May. 

Rosa 'Jeanne LaJoie' is a miniature climber that I love. 

Pelargonium 'Filbert' is still blooming. 

I purchased Indigofera kirilowii from Nowlen's Bridge Perennials 
in early July. I cut it back and it came back strong. 

Thanks to multiple trips to Fry Road Nursery in the past several years,
I've got Fuchsia madness in my garden. This one is 'Baby Ann'.

F. hatsbashi is a "climber" but needs support. It also reseeds! 

F. 'Baby Ann' 

Another shot of 'Baby Ann.' I can't help myself. 

Fuchsia 'Island Sunset' is a variegated cascading variety. And hardy!

The foliage on these little Impatiens is getting sad but the flowers are still cute.

Impatiens species from Fry Road. I am going to attempt to winter over this tender guy. 

Tinantia erecta that I grew from seed is still blooming. Such a darling shade-lover. 

The stamens remain after the petals have dropped.
They remind me of little tongues. 

The other day, my Melianthus major really captivated me with a sprinkling of dew.
I took a bunch of photos. 

Overkill, yes but you have to admit this foliage is pretty cool. 

On the left, you can see I expanded this bed a bit to make room for next year's growth
(hopefully) on my clump of Japanese Blood Grass. 

Random shot of the north part of the garden. The Heptacodium miconioides (Seven-Son Flower)
is dropping its leaves and making a mess. 

Question One:  

Here is a shot of my Seven-Son Flower. It's been in the ground here
since 2002 so it's quite mature. However you can see that it has failed
as it does every years, to form the pink calyxes. 

Here you can see that a few have formed. 

And here, sorry for the blur. 

And here. But why doesn't it form them like it's supposed to? Any idea what I could
be doing wrong? It's in full sun. I've experimented with watering
and neither wet or dry soil seems to make a difference.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks. 

Question Two: 

In the red pot is Astilbe 'Color Flash'. The leaves are solid green but they're supposed to look like this: 

My question is, how much sun does it need to color up? 

The garden